Only 7 States Get an "A" in Financial Literacy

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee's effort to teach financial literacy skills to young people has gotten it a top grade among the states.

According to the state treasurer's office, the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College in Burlington, Vt., recently ranked every state on its efforts to provide financial literacy education to high school students.

Tennessee was one of only seven states that received a grade of A. The center says 60% of states got grades of C or less, with 44% having failing grades of D or F. The states getting an A are Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia.

Those getting a B are Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and West Virginia.

Those getting a C are Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.

The center is a partnership among financial institutions, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies to promote financial literacy.

The center praised Tennessee for a number of its initiatives, including the incorporation of personal finance topics into the state's instructional guidelines for grades K-12 and the requirement that students be given assessment tests on financial literacy.

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Why doesn't every state have a required finance class throughout high school? That would be more important than any other subject, because every single person would use that knowledge for the rest of their life. It's crazy how many people don't even know that paying their bills late ruins their credit score and then they wonder why they can't get financing.

Looks like the states with F are loaded with many of the highest in per capita income while those with an A are mostly states with below average per capita income. This looks more like an industry lobby group than real research.

"It's crazy how many people don't even know that paying their bills late ruins their credit score and then they wonder why they can't get financing". - Johnny205

All lending at interest must impoverish somebody. When the loan principle is spent into the economy, through hard work it can be recovered and paid back over time.

Because the interest on a loan is never spent into the economy no amount of hard work can recover and repay what is not there.

From Math where P= principle and I = interest Principle plus interest is greater than Principle and therefore the interest has to be taken from people who did not borrow and GIVEN to the lender - not RETURNED to the lender.

P + I > P

From Christianity

Exodus 22:25

“If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him.

From Islam

[Surah al Baqarah, verse 275-280].

Those who devour usury will not stand except as stands one whom the devil by his touch has driven to madness. That is because they say: Trade is like usury: but Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury.... Allah will deprive usury of all blessing, but will give increase for deeds of charity, for He loves not any ungrateful sinner.... O you who believe, fear Allah and give up what remains of your demand for usury, if you are indeed believers. If you do it not, take notice of war from Allah and His messenger, but if you repent you shall have your capital sums; deal not unjustly, and you shall not be dealt with unjustly. And if the debtor is in difficulty, grant him time tin it is easy for him to repay. But if you remit it by way of charity, that is best for you if you only knew".

Islam, often laughed at for sticking to its principles and not "moving with the times", has never given in to the demands of the money-lenders to change its tough stance on interest. Naturally, Islam has increasingly been attacked by the financial interests behind today's media and politics. Looking at the evidence with an open mind, however, it should not take you long to realise that Islam makes sense, and interest doesn't.

From William Shakespeare

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry".